Volcano, Fires, and COVID-19
Cuban missionary Misael Delgado Rodríguez faced a major challenge on his first Sabbath in the Canary Islands. Only five people came to worship.
Misael dove into mission outreach work, visiting former church members and others on La Palma island. A month later, he rejoiced with a first baptism. But then COVID-19 suspended outreach efforts, and his problems seemed to multiply. A fire broke out in the north of the island, leaving some members without homes. Then a fire broke out in the south. Then a volcano erupted for 85 days, leaving islanders grappling with earthquakes, toxic gas, and ashes. Two church families lost everything.
Amid the storms, something amazing happened. Faith blossomed. Three years after Misael’s arrival, 45 people were regularly worshipping on Sabbath. In addition, seven people had been baptized, five were preparing for baptism, and 15 were taking Bible studies. What happened?
Misael said intercessory prayer was key. “We pray every day at 7 a.m., 2 p.m., and 9 p.m.,” he said. “Each member prays for five people.”
Each church department also embraced practical evangelism. One project, an initiative of the Spanish Union of Churches Conference, saw church members calling contacts over the phone and offering Ellen White’s Steps to Christ and related Bible studies. Other projects included educational courses on the church’s Facebook page aimed at the needs of families, young people, and little children; musical evangelism in which Adventist young people held mini-concerts on the street or while visiting the sick and needy; a program with ADRA in which members handed out cards that could be presented for food in supermarkets; health presentations; Bible studies; and the distribution of The Desire of Ages and other books. On holidays, such as Mother’s Day, church members placed a special card inside each book.
The church also opened a discipleship school where laypeople could learn how to evangelize, and four small groups were meeting regularly in homes.
Friendship evangelism has proven very successful, Misael said. While the volcano was erupting, church members spent two months passing out masks and literature with health information related to volcanoes. “That way the church became well known,” Misael said. Indeed, many of the 15 people taking Bible studies lost everything in the volcano, and they have acknowledged that the crisis led them to God, he said. “Otherwise, they would not have been interested in learning about God,” he said.
Misael looks back at his experience in the Canary Islands with joy. “The beginning was very difficult,” he said. “We have been through a lot. But the results are very satisfying. We have seen how God has blessed us.”
Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help spread the gospel in the Canary Islands and around the world.